How They Cope
by impavid fool
Summary: Piper, Alex and the agonies of womanhood. [Alex/Piper]


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Piper missed Alex.

Piper missed Alex _a lot_. Moaning, she rolled onto her stomach and pressed her face into the pillow. Today had been Hell. Worse than Hell. Today had been death warmed up. Today had been _agony_. Today had been lonely, frustrating, horny and painful. Piper was not happy. She barely got a wink of sleep last night, and her appetite was gone completely. She was flushing, she was cold, she was sweating, she had a headache, and, worst of all, she had stomach cramps. _Period_ stomach cramps, and her body was a tomb of torture.

And her girlfriend's job _sucked_, because Alex had left at five in the morning and now it was three in the afternoon, and she _still_ wasn't back. Piper _might_ have sent her eleven text messages, but it was reasonable. After all, Alex did promise to be back by lunchtime. And Piper didn't like being lied to, especially when she was wounded. She wanted to be comfortable, and no matter what position she lay in, nothing worked.

Walking around was pathetic. As soon as Piper left the bedroom, she was on her knees, groaning and collapsing. No. Walking was out of the question. Pouring herself some warm milk took too long. She couldn't stand up for more than ten seconds. In fact, the only time when Piper left the bed was to go to the toilet. That in itself was like crossing the battlefield, and the results were far from satisfying. Piper was certain the lower half of her body was going to rip off.

She checked her mobile for any responses and found none. Sighing unhappily, Piper tried lying on her back, then onto her front, then with one half of her body dangling off the edge. Then she resorted to the pillow. Head on the pillow, feet on the pillow, pillow between her legs, whamming the pillow into the wall.

Spreading herself across the mattress, she waited, and then, finally, heard the front door open. At once Piper sat upright, wincing, and by the time Alex arrived in the bedroom, Piper's body was shaking with agony. 'Aw.' Alex grinned, dropping her bag to the side. 'I love how you haven't moved from where I placed you last night.'

'Hold me.'

Alex obliged. Slipping off her leather jacket, she flung it onto a chair, and crawled under the sheets. Piper already felt better when Alex's arm came around her waist, holding her gently. The blonde closed her eyes, and shuffled closer, one arm going up Alex's back, her other hand pressed at her shoulder. She felt Alex's fingers softly comb through her hair, before kissing her forehead, 'All better now, yeah?'

'Mm.'

While she lay there, Piper felt Alex's hand trail from her cheek, down to her abdomen. Alex affectionately spread her hand across, and the heat of her palm seemed to ease the agony slightly. She rubbed her tummy slowly, and when Piper sighed, Alex knew she was doing the right thing. Piper tended to be a little dramatic, but her period pains were the absolute worst, so she did sympathise a great deal.

Alex intertwined her legs with Piper's, and let her girlfriend rest her head against her chest.

'I missed you,' Piper murmured.

'I missed you too, kid.'

'I'm so fucking horny.'

'Oh.' Alex smirked. 'I'm afraid I'll have to put a rain check on that one.'

Piper groaned. Sniffled. 'Fine.'

'Too messy.'

'_Alex_.'

'Sorry.'

Piper pouted, then raised her head to look at her properly. A small smile graced her lips when Alex ran the back of her hand over her cheek, through hair again. She could feel Alex's soft breath against her nose, and it tickled. Maybe it was the period and the hormones and everything else, but she felt such an overwhelming amount of affection for the other woman. Alex Vause was all she could ever want.

Right now, she would honestly die happily in her arms. Just by having Alex hold her, she felt so much better. Alex's hand stopped rubbing her tummy and the knot in her stomach seemed to have loosened. For now, anyway.

'Don't go back to work,' Piper whispered. 'Stay here with me.'

'What? To feed you, massage your feet, bathe you and all of that shit?'

'Yes.'

Alex chuckled, tightened her embrace. 'You know I would, babe.' Suddenly Piper moaned when she felt a spasm of pain shoot from her womb, up her spine, and across her chest. 'Aw, Pipes.' Smiling crookedly, Alex kissed her cheek, her nose. 'Piper.' Then her lips. Piper stiffened a little, but effortlessly fell into her kiss. At first, she was submissive, welcoming Alex's soft kisses with just the right amount of tongue.

But she was feeling impatient, and couldn't help herself when she pushed her mouth harder against hers. Alex was a tad taken aback, but didn't object. Piper exhaled happily when she felt her girlfriend's hands run across her back, massaging her in the perfect spots, while kissing her back with equal enthusiasm. It was nice, it was lovely, _oh god_, Piper wanted more. Her hand glided up beneath Alex's t-shirt, passed her toned stomach, her waist, feeling her soft, warm flesh which only made Piper hungrier for more.

It was a fantastic distraction. Piper completely forgot about the throbbing pains in her abdomen, pressing herself against her girlfriend's stomach, her leg wrapping around her hips, trying to make it clear she wanted them to take this further. Pressing a hand against the back of Alex's head, Piper moaned into her mouth, squeezing her hair between her fingers, before tugging slightly on her lower lip. Alex had to admit, this version of Piper was hot. A little forward but, _damn_, she could get used to this.

'I want you,' Piper gasped, 'I want you so much right now.'

'Okay. Piper?'

'Come on, _please_.'

Alex nearly laughed. She loved this, but couldn't take it as far as they wanted. Not only did she have to be back at work in twenty minutes, but she would also prefer more time to please her lover. Plus, Piper wasn't exactly _well equipped_ for such activities. Gently, Alex pushed Piper off her slightly. 'Baby, _not now_. Later. All right? In a couple of days––'

'I can't wait for a couple of days.'

'Yeah, you can. I'll make the wait worth it, I promise.' She pecked her lips. 'Okay?'

Sighing heavily, Piper slumped her shoulders. 'Okay.' She wasn't happy with the response, but snuggled up to her girlfriend either way. They lay, tangled together, for another ten minutes before Piper felt Alex shift. Instantly she clung to her top. 'Don't go. Stay.'

'I have to work.'

'But I want you to stay.'

'But I gotta work, babe.'

'But you _always_ work,' Piper whined.

Piper was so cute like this. Of _course_ Alex would rather stay, but if she didn't leave this bed anytime soon, she probably never would. 'I'll be back soon.'

'Buy me chocolate?'

'Sure.'

'Maybe some wine, too?'

'... Yes, Piper.'

'And can we have one of those nights where you rent out a DVD but we never watch it?'

Rolling her eyes, Alex kissed her again, a little more forceful just to make it clear how much she loved her. Then she pulled away, and had to pry off Piper's fingers from her top before she could escape the bed. 'You don't even have to ask.'

Piper reluctantly let Alex leave. Raising the sheet to her chin, she watched as Alex pulled her jacket back on and grabbed her bag. 'You look really pretty,' Piper murmured. Alex stopped in the doorway, and turned to look at her. She smiled a little, readjusted her glasses, and there was a slight flush in her cheeks from rushing around.

'You look real pretty too.' A pause. Alex held her gaze a moment longer, before opening the door, 'Don't run far, kid.' Then she was gone again.

Fiddling with a loose string attached to the sheet, Piper smiled to herself. The pain had ceased, and just imagining Alex holding her later was enough to soothe every nerve in her body. She could still smell Alex's faint perfume, and her lips still tingled from when they last kissed. There was nowhere else she would rather be.

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**author's note**: I don't know why this hasn't been done before. Or has it? Anyway, here's some Vauseman goodness for you. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Please leave a review! I'd love to know your thoughts.


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